Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-01-20


tunities to see and listen to the celebrat
ed men whose fame has spread over
the world in the different professions
and avocations of life. A great city
like London possesses great minds In
every profession. The ministry of
this city does not lack for galaxy
of brilliant lights.
When one visits great Sturgeon in
his monstrous egg-shaped Tabernacle
he is charmed by the sweet eloquence
of that natural born expounder OF moral
thought, One is awed by the
Websterian oratory of DIR Parker of
the Getty Temple whose commentary
of the bible is worshipped by divines
as a sketch Of vast biblical and CLASH
cal learning. Cannon Forar is known
the world over as having written the
best ''life of Christ" But to-day
Canon Liddon is preaching in St Paul's
Cathedral on ST. Paul's HILL He is
very celebrated in Divinity, a deep
thinker and is now professor in old
Cambridge college. He is very small
man with a big head and sharp cut
features. Deep burrows of toll course
his face in every direction. He looks
so small in such vast building sur
rounded by busts of hero-worriers and
statues of Statesmen placed around the
sides of the wall.
He is discoursing on progress. He
is learned, eloquent and convincing.
But most men are biased or rather
unconsciously, exaggerate their own
fields of thought and life On listen
ing to him one is almost persuaded
that nearly all human progress is done
by the church, that the church pro
gress humans as men perfect machin-
cry, jumping from clepsydra or water
clock, whose clumsy irregular arms
ignorant of perfect motion, sub ject
also to flooding fuctuations-of the
beautifully accurate chronometer.
One is not apt to coincide fully that
the church-itself thing of beauty
is almost the sole element Of human
progress, other forces play role.
We live in an age of progress. The
signs of progress are the changing OF
questions, and the shifting Of grounds
Old questions are put in new forms,
old grounds are defended on new
principles. The progressive tendency
pervades every department of life
its theories, its material development
and spiritual convictions. But in
what does this progress consist? In
growth of products or increase OF
population; in mere material develope-
ment and results of abstract thought.
Progress comprehends all this and
Infinitely more. Because progress is
shifting and indefinite, mans concep-
tons of it are often partial and
indistinct; but the essential idea under
lying all progress is individual liberty.
There is progress when the slave is
released from his bondage; when the in
QUESTION is condemned as an instrument
of torture; when the preist- hood ceases
to be the sole interpreter between God
and man. The advancement of every
age is marked by some distinguishing
characteristic. 1t is the popularity
of the progress of the 10Th century
that it boldly and clearly distinguishes
between truth and error; it tolerates
no man with truth in one hand and
falsehood in the other; it puts every
theory and belief to a crucial test. To
day doctrines which but yesterday
were thought to have been established
in wisdom, are being weighed in the
balance and found wanting.
There are two inseperable elements
in progress--the individual and the
race. Of these the former is most
important; only through the individual
is the progress of the race possible.
Whatever brushes individuality init
ates ignorance and slavery. National
liberty is gained only as man breaks
the shackles of Individual bondage.
The individual must initiate and regu-
late the movements of the race; he is
the center of growth and change, the
handspring and pendulum Of progress,
In all ages the growth of the race has
owed its peculiar character to the
efforts of the individual. We know
the military powers of Greece through
the efforts of the Alexander; we know
the character of Grecian and Roman
oratory through the master efforts Of
Demosthenes and Cicero; through
Napoleon comes to us the character OF
the French Revolution The indi-
vidual has always been the initiatory
power in national growth He has
stimulated original thought; aroused
the world from the slumber of fixed
decided opinions, and thus kept it from
lapsing into barbarism. Aristotle led
and controlled the scientific and specu.
lative world for years.
The force of the Individual is seen
in the fields of discovery and invention.
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